Franchise news

Dunkin' Brands sold to US investors

The French spirits producer, Pernod Ricard, has sold its franchise business,
Dunkin' Brands, to US American financial investors. According to a report in the
Handelsblatt, the purchase price amounted to 2.425 billion dollars. The buyer
consortium consisting of Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee
Partners has said that it is expecting the transaction to be completed during
the first quarter of 2006.

The business which
has been sold consists of the fast-food restaurant chain, Dunkin' Donuts, the
chain of ice-cream parlours, Baskin Robbins, and the sandwich branches, Togo's.
All three chains are run as franchise systems. Dunkin' Donuts is considered to
be Starbucks‘ greatest competitor. In 2004, Dunkin' Brands‘ global turnover lay
at 4.8 billion dollars.